INTERNATIONAL UKRAINE ANTI-FASCIST SOLIDARITY

Very disturbing news comes from the Kharkov region. Supporters of Borotba report that Ukrainian neo-Nazis have begun massacres of civilians. From the city of Balakliya, which was occupied by Ukrainian troops yesterday, there are reports that people are being taken away in an unknown direction. We are talking about doctors, public utility employees, and other citizens who continued to interact with the Russian military-civilian administration.      There are eyewitness accounts that militiamen with neo-Nazi symbols simply grabbed people at their workplaces, and no one saw these people again.      We do not yet have the opportunity to double-check this information, but we have no reason not to trust our supporters.      We fear that Ukrainian neo-Nazis will organize another provocation, as they did in Bucha, and will try to blame the Russian military. Massacres are a common practice of neo-Nazis.      We ask you to spread this information as widely as possible. Perhaps it will save some

A very successful online meeting to mobilise international support for the Free the Kononovich Brothers campaign took place on Thursday 25th August, with 50 participants from Ukraine, the Russian Federation, the USA, England and Scotland. Organised by the London-based International Ukraine Anti-Fascist Solidarity campaign (IUAFS), the seminar called for the release of the Kononovich brothers and all Ukrainian political prisoners, and for the restoration of all political and media freedoms. Chaired by Theo Russell, the key speakers were: Chris Williamson, former Labour MP; Alexey Albu from Borotba (Struggle), a survivor of the 2014 Odessa Trade Union House Fire massacre; Steve Sweeney, Moscow-based investigative journalist and former Morning Star international editor; John Parker from Solidarity with Donbass and Antifascists in Ukraine (joining from Los Angeles); Phil Wilayto, Odessa Solidarity Campaign (Virginia USA); and members of the Young Communist League of the Russian Federat

The predictable result of the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of the Kharkov region was another information attack launched by the Kiev regime. Following the scenario played out in Bucha, the Ukrainian military discovered mass graves of “victims of the Russian occupation” in the city of Izyum.      In another attempt to blame the Russian military for Nazism, the Ukrainian media reported on September 15: “The terrible footage are the graves of the victims of the Rashist [Russian fascist] occupation on the outskirts of Izyum. There are almost no names on the plates anywhere. Apparently, bodies are buried here from under the rubble of bombed houses, which have yet to be identified.” The reports did not mention that the town has been heavily shelled by Ukrainian artillery for about five months.      The very next day, the exhumation of corpses by the Ukrainian authorities began. About 400 bodies were reportedly found at the mass burial sites. Of course, the corpses of civil

In April, Kiev organized a false-flag operation in the city of Bucha near Kiev, accusing Russia of massacring civilians. Moscow demanded an impartial investigation and stressed that all Russian troops had fully withdrawn from Bucha on March 30, adding that Ukrainian forces were shelling the city around the clock.      Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov lambasted Ukrainian claims of massacres in the city of Izyum in the Kharkov region, stressing that Kiev is lying in a bid to pin the blame on Russia.      "It is the same script like the one in Bucha, everything goes like that. It is a lie and we will be contending for the truth," he said.      Russian troops and militia forces withdrew from the Kharkov region earlier this month as they regrouped to concentrate on the liberation of Donbass.      On Friday, Ukrainian authorities alleged that mass burial sites were found in Izyum after Russian troops withdrew, claiming that more than 400 bodies had been found so far. Th

 The US propaganda machine is playing dirtier than ever in its information war against Russia By Vitaly Sovin After the publication of a recent story in the New York Times based on allegedly ‘declassified materials’ from US intelligence agencies about Russia’s ‘purchase’ of millions of artillery shells and missiles from North Korea for use in Ukraine, something went awry.      Against the backdrop of statements from representatives of the State Department and the Department of Defense, who did not provide any factual information, John Kirby, the US National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications, walked it back. He conceded that there were no indications that the arms purchase had actually occurred yet, or that any North Korean munitions had made it onto the battlefield in Ukraine. The narrative, however, serves a number of purposes: Highlighting the “serious logistical problems” for Russia and its local allies in the context of the military operation in Ukraine;

Ukraine has upped the ante in its conflict with Russia, how will Moscow respond? By Sergey Poletaev After Russia and its local allies liberated Severodonetsk and Lisichansk in early July, the fighting in Ukraine subsided somewhat. It seemed as if Moscow was deliberately letting the conflict settle into something with an air of the routine. Relatively little resources were being spent on it, while the state apparatus was working to overcome the effects of sanctions and to adapt the economy.     During this time, the military operation was taking place in a kind of ‘standby mode’ against the background of turbulence in the global economy and the deepening energy crisis in Europe.     However, in late summer and early autumn, events on the Ukrainian front called into question the prospects for such a frozen state. As we had anticipated, the operational pause on the part of the Russian army led to the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) seizing the initiative and eventually launching two counter-

by James Tweedie In a scene from the 1974 film The Four Musketeers the vain Porthos (Frank Finlay) shows the pious Aramis (Richard Chamberlain) his new trick: He draws his rapier and throws it into the bullseye of a target.      Aramis tells Porthos to try that again, but with himself as a live target. The musketeer easily parries Porthos’ hurled sword to one side. “Only Porthos could invent a new way of disarming himself!” Aramis scoffs, before chasing his friend around the gymnasium.      NATO leaders obviously don’t watch enough classic swashbucklers. In their rush to arm the Ukraine since before the start of Russia’s ‘demilitarisation’ operation there, several eastern member-states have managed to demilitarise themselves without Moscow having to lift a finger.      Poland has sent 232 T-72 main battle tanks, almost half its entire tank fleet, over the border into the Ukraine. The Donbas militias have already captured some examples with almost no miles on the clock. Warsaw has orde

  Six months into the conflict, what exactly does Russia hope to achieve in Ukraine? by Dmitry Trenin  Putin’s latest comments reveal that Moscow’s thinking has shifted and compromise is no longer on the agenda.      Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to Ukraine as an “anti-Russian enclave” which has to be removed. He also said that the Russian soldiers taking part in the military operation there were fighting for their “own country.” These statements carry important implications.      Over the last six-plus months, the mantra of the Russian officialdom has been that all aims of the offensive will be reached. On purpose, however, the specific objectives, such as how far Moscow’s forces plan move into Ukraine, have never been spelled out. This cannot but raise speculation about what the Kremlin is actually hoping to achieve.      The only person who can authoritatively answer that question, however, is the President, and second-guessing him makes no sense. Yet, two thi

by New Worker correspondent A very successful online meeting to mobilise international support for the Free the Kononovich Brothers campaign took place on Thursday 25th August, with 50 participants from Ukraine, the Russian Federation, the USA, England and Scotland. Organised by the London-based International Ukraine Anti-Fascist Solidarity campaign (IUAFS) the seminar called for the release of the Kononovich brothers and all Ukrainian political prisoners and the restoration of all political and media freedoms.      Chaired by Theo Russell the key speakers were Chris Williamson, former Labour MP, Alexey Albu from Borotba (Struggle), a survivor of the 2014 Odessa Trade Union House Fire massacre, Steve Sweeney, Moscow-based investigative journalist and former Morning Star international editor, John Parker from Solidarity with Donbass and Antifascists in Ukraine (joining from Los Angeles), Phil Wilayto, Odessa Solidarity Campaign (Virginia USA), and members of the Young Communist Leag